GULF SHORES, Ala. -- The strong onshore winds that accompanied Wednesday's stormy weather delivered more than the usual flotsam: When day broke today, Alabama's beaches were blanketed in millions of by-the-wind sailors and thousands of Portuguese man-of-war.

From Dauphin Island to Perdido Key, the gelatinous creatures withered and rotted on the state's sandy vistas, piquing curiosity and, perhaps by afternoon, prompting a run on nose plugs.

(Ryan Dezember/Press-Register)Portuguese man-of-war were speckled among larger piles of by-the-wind sailors that washed up on beaches from Perdido Key to Dauphin Island on Wednesday.

"I thought I was walking through seaweed it was so thick," said George Jany, who encountered the goopy masses during a predawn walk in Gulf Shores.

Lucky for Jany, he didn't step on a Portuguese man-of-war, which can deliver a powerful sting even after it's died and begun to dry. Those larger predators, which can grow to the size of a basketball, were far outnumbered by the smaller by-the-wind sailors, or Valella valella, whose sting is not usually noticeable to humans.